Living Car FreeDo you live car free or car light? Do you prefer to use alternative transportation (bicycles, walking, other human-powered or public transportation) for everyday activities whenever possible? Discuss your lifestyle here.

After recently moving from a big city to a small town, I "rediscovered" cycling and am very nearly car-free - I have a car, but don't drive it; rather, it (a big van) is my storage shed. It may be partly the change in altitude (from Missouri to the mountains in Colorado), or the generally cleaner air, but exhaust seems really nasty to me now. I half choke when something like a big diesel pickup passes me. Today an older car with some kind of exhaust problem came through the drive-through of the restaurant where I work and the wind blew some fumes in - instant headache. Has anyone else experienced a heightened sensitivity to auto exhaust after leaving off driving cars?

It is not healthy, and the only reason diesel emissions aren't more heavily regulated is because of the trucking lobby. Also, all non-road diesel equipment such as construction equipment is almost entirely unregulated.